We have a large garden in semi-rural Leicestershire. This blog is about what we do and what's happening out there because of - or in spite of - our rather amateur gardening efforts. We grow vegetables, we have an orchard with apples, plums and pears, as well as an extensive ornamental garden. Surrounded by fields we enjoy many species of birds, frogs & toads and occasional foxes and other four-legged visitors. Enjoy!

Sunday, 17 June 2012

Stormy weather

It's been a pretty horrible week - Mum ill with shingles and very wet and stormy weather making gardening a bit difficult. The weather people say we've had the wettest April and are set to have the wettest June since they started recording these things, and that after the driest winter and warmest February!

However, everything in the garden is growing, including weeds of course, and it looks like a jungle.

On Friday we had a heavy thunderstorm with hail which has shredded the leaves of rhubarb, marrows and squashes and snapped off the top 18ins shoots of the broad beans. Joe Hashman (On the Plot with Dirty Nails) says he pinches out the tops of his broad beans to deter black fly (before they get infested) and steams them like spinach so I had a go and they were really nice. A bit more bitter than spinach but good with butter and pepper. Shame to waste them!

On a good note, we've harvested the 4 pots of potatoes planted in February and the first early Colleens in the veg plot are starting to flower so a good sign they'll be ready in a couple of weeks.